# initial

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ɪˈnɪʃəl/ · frequency rank #1,947

## Definitions
1. Chronologically first, early; of or pertaining to the beginning, cause or origin.
2. Spatially first, placed at the beginning, in the first position; especially said of the first letter of a word.

## Etymology
From Middle French initial or directly from its Latin etymon initiālis (“of the beginning, incipient, initial”), from initium (“a going in, entrance, beginning”), from inire (“to go in, enter upon, begin”), from in (“in”) + ire (“to go”).

## Easily confused with
- **instill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/initial-vs-instill)
- **initiate** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/initial-vs-initiate)
- **initials** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/initial-vs-initials)
- **initially** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/initial-vs-initially)
- **inertial** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/inertial-vs-initial)

## Common misspellings (9)
`iintial`, `iniital`, `initail`, `initiall`, `initila`, `inittial`, `innitial`, `intiial`, `niitial`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/initial